With the dearth of live concerts happening now during this pandemic, I’ve been reaching out to artists about performances they are having online that are streaming to different platforms. I’ve also been contacting artists that I’ve been in touch with in the past to see how they are faring nowadays with the Coronavirus crisis. Such is the case this week with a chat with Jorma Kaukonen of Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna fame, whom I first chatted with back in the early 90s and, as a member of Hot Tuna, several times since. I reached him at home on April 8 and reintroduced myself.

Q: Jorma, this is Lucky Clark calling from Maine.
Kaukonen: Hey, man, how’s it doing up there?

Q: Cold and lonely?
Kaukonen: (Laugh) Yeah, my wife’s family lives up in Maine and that’s pretty much what they said, too. My wife’s sister lives in Saco, and there’s a gaggle of them that live all over Maine up there somewhere.

Q: Well, you and I usually talk when you’re coming to our fair state to perform, but seeing that’s not happening , and seeing you are doing some online streaming concerts, this interview is going to be a little different. First off, though, how is this pandemic impacting you personally and as a performing musician?
Kaukonen: In February I was just coming off the road. I was very fortunate because I didn’t test positive and so far, by the grace of God, I haven’t tested positive. So, we got lucky on that one, but basically I’m out of work. The good news is that my wife is the ant and not the grasshopper, so we’re going to be okay getting through this, I’m sure. But all of a sudden. life as we knew it (and the life as everybody knows it) has changed considerably for us. So, I have a lot of different kinds of time on my hands and I’m not that fond of mowing and weed-whacking, so that’s not taking up any personal slack. We’ve been doing streaming shows from the ranch for a couple of years and we have a really fantastic, high-quality video setup and very good people we’ve been working with. So we talked to everybody and we decided that we might as well get together (since we have nothing else to do) on Saturday night and put together a little show. We had our first one last Saturday night at 8 p.m. and what I did last time was we just set up on stage as if there were people there (and as if life hadn’t changed) and it was like sitting in the Kaukonen’s living room with me playing. At some point we’re going to get people to come in from other parts of the country on Skype and add them to our little show. Basically we’re just trying to do the best we can.

Q: Now, sir, how long are you planning to do this; for the duration of the pandemic?
Kaukonen: Oh, absolutely, absolutely!! If you subscribe to the Fur Peace Ranch YouTube channel, that’ll get you right there.

Q: And would you have information about the links on your website, as well?
Kaukonen: Absolutely, and it’ll be on the Fur Peace website, as well.

Q: One of the neat aspects of this live streaming is that my readers can get to watch acts that, unlike you and Hot Tuna who get to Maine quite a lot,have never been to this state before. And they can view it in the comfort of their own home, though there is something exciting about the press of people in a concert venue, that’s for sure.
Kaukonen: You’re right. The headiness of live performance is a beast unto itself and those of us who love doing that as audiences we all know what we’re talking about, and we love that, but at the end of the day, it’s about communicating with all these different people. That’s a really cool thing.

Q: The only downside to the live streaming is that you, as the performer, can’t see their responses.
Kaukonen: That is true, but that being said, we are working on a way to get audience feedback. which of course is cool. And the other thing is we’re doing three-camera shoots so the guitar geeks are going to get a non-stop, close look at my hands.

Q: And you pray that your fingers don’t slip!
Kaukonen: (Chuckle) Exactly, but like I tell my students, everybody makes mistakes. It’s the recovery factor that counts.

Q: I know you’re healthy …
Kaukonen: For now!

Q: … but I’m sure you miss the road.
Kaukonen: Oh, of course … I love being on the road. Do I miss watching my kids grow up and being with the family? Of course I do, but I’ve done this all my life and I really enjoy it, and for the most part, it’s still really fun. The concerts are always fun and sometimes the road is more interesting than others, but, yeah, do I miss it? You bet!

Q: Is there anything, sir, that you’d like me to pass on to the folks reading this article?
Kaukonen: Yeah, sure. I guess you could tell everybody up there that I’m going to miss not coming to Maine for a while, whether it’s to visit my family or to play a gig. I know we’re all going to get through this.  We need to keep the faith!

Lucky Clark has spent over 50 years writing about good music and the people who make it. He can be reached at luckyc@myfairpoint.net if you have any questions, comments or suggestions.

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